Joe's Apartment (1996)

Pretty Good

A lot of fun.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Joe (Jerry O'Connell) is a naive wide-eyed fresh off the bus Iowan. He gets robbed right away at the New York bus station. He befriends the strange Walter Sh1t. He gets a rundown cockroach-infested apartment. Thugs are intimidating tenants to clear out the building for Senator Dougherty (Robert Vaughn). It's the last piece before he can build a giant prison. The cockroaches find a viable roommate in the messy Joe. Joe falls for Senator Dougherty's daughter Lily (Megan Ward) who's working on a community garden in the neighborhood.This is aggressively disgusting. It's very distracting. Even without the roaches, this would be a bad comedy. The roaches are more appealing than O'Connell. With them, I can't possibly concentrate on the jokes. It wallows in disturbing images. The close-ups are especially bad. There are people who like outsider tastes. This one takes it too far.

I watched this movie a while back, and I have just Yesterday watched it again. For a movie made back then, I'm sort of impressed. The animations were pretty good, the acting was fine, the story was okay, but the humor was really good! I rate it so low because of the lack of stuff going on. Main character trying to fit into the new town. Normal story. Finds a girl, something bad happens, they soon meet up and everyone's happy.My favorite scenes were those with the animations and the interaction the actor had with them. Must be tough! And that constant swearing... goodness!

I absolutely detest roaches. Effing can't stand them, which is why the movie is a success. Making what I think to be one of the most disgusting creatures on Earth to be endearing, lovable characters was a huge stretch, but it was the most successful aspect of the movie.The story is simple, and oftentimes can be dull, but the occasional insect song and dance routine, along with several apartment-sized battles between roach and human that stay consistently silly, it's easy to look past the tired love story.A wholly original, fun movie, anyone willing to let loose and laugh at some three stooges- esquire comedy will most likely enjoy the slapstick and excrement-related humor.Chances are that you can buy this movie for less than five dollars on DVD at this point, so if you happen to pass it, pick it up. What do you have to lose?

... of course, that might also mean you need extensive therapy. At least if you're over the age of seven. This film is an odd one. It's about a guy who moves into an apartment dominated by thousands upon thousands of cockroaches. I checked the director's entire filmography, and it seems like everything he does involves cockroaches... no, revolves around them. I'm guessing he's either fascinated by them or infatuated with them. I'm not sure which I find more disturbing. I wager he's got some counseling in his future... or maybe he's just a very large child, passing for an adult. That is the only group of people this... 'film' could possibly appeal to. The plot is stupid and completely predictable, not to mention formulaic in every sense of the word. Absolutely no originality whatsoever. The pacing is surprisingly poor, for such a short film. The acting is sub-par. The writing is horrid. The songs sung by the cockroaches... don't get me started. The rest of the soundtrack just seems out of place. I know this was produced by MTV, but even for them, this is a new low. But apart from every negative I've written in this review, I must admit that I followed this film from the very beginning pretty much to the very end... something I rarely do anymore, except for when I'm at the cinema. Despite how much I hated it, I never took my eyes off it. Of course, this was probably just because this was aired during a violent lightning storm, and I was afraid if I turned on my computer before it was over, it might attract a bolt of lightning. Of course, if you need to believe otherwise... then go right ahead. I recommend this to children and people who enjoy childish humor. To give a quick example of said "humor"; one scene has the main character running around town, collecting feces from various animals. Yes, seriously. The film is incredibly poorly done, and very amateurish in just about every aspect, but I suppose the kids won't mind. Personally, I'd choose a cartoon over this any day... but different strokes for different blokes. 1/10